Oh, okay, so California isn't going bankrupt. But when you look at the facts, as the libertarian capitalists have been barking about every day, California is going to hell in a handbasket. Sort of. Or not.... Oh, heck, see for yourself.

California contributed more than 15 percent of the nation’s new jobs between October 2011 and October 2012 - adding more jobs in 12 months than Texas and the rest of the other top-10 fastest-growing states combined - while home building is bouncing back and demand for houses is increasing.
The end-of-2012 results were even more impressive.

Of the 171,000 new jobs the entire U.S. added in October, 27 percent were in California. And since the beginning of the year, California has added nearly 300,000 jobs, outperforming Texas by a decent margin and outpacing New York by more than 2 to 1.

San Francisco is overrun with cranes, as the new digital economy (Google, Apple, Facebook, Twitter) continue to be HQ'd in the Bay Area. Heck, add Samsung to the pile.

Conservatives have made hay of reports of California companies leaving the state. And it's true! Some have—254 in 2011, to be exact. Conservative media had a field day with that little stat. On the other hand, 132,000 new businesses were created that same year—second highest per capita in the nation, tied with Texas, and behind only Arizona. And that was California's down year.

And California's Democratic takeover has now given us a healthy budget surplus this year, something Ahnold couldn't manage without gimmickry.

I'm not sure why conservatives are so obsessed with California's failure. I don't root for Alabama or Oklahoma or Utah to suck. But if your entire worldview is predicated on the fiction that gay people, Hollywood, Latinos, Nancy Pelosi, and taxes kill society, then I guess California's fate is critical for validating that nonsense.

Too bad it ain't California going down. In fact, all those things they hate about California is what makes it so fabulous. Phil Mikkelson? You can go away any time now. We don't need you.

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Comments

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Posted by Arnold
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Jan 31, 2013 at 11:54 pm

For the record, I never said California would go bankrupt. I said a tsunami was coming. Just you wait and see. The above facts mean nothing when compared to my very reliable prognostications. California simply can't sustain the current job gains and tens of thousands of new businesses. Do you know why? California teachers' salaries and pensions, that's why. It's basic salary/pension science.

Posted by Kevin bumbleford
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 1, 2013 at 8:42 am

Kevin, post some links to where you got your set of 'facts' and then you may be on the road to credibility. I'm not sure why you think being over taxed and over regulated is a good long term solution for prosperity, unless that's not what you really want.

And who is this 'we' you refer to when you say 'we don't need you'? Is it your posse of like minded insulated leftists living off the taxpayer handouts us working people are funding? You people don't represent or run my state....you're just more occupiers seeking to bleed my state dry.

Posted by Arnold
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 1, 2013 at 8:50 am

Bumblehead, you've made a great point. Although the objective data is widely disseminated across the internet and available to anyone with even a tad of curiosity, it feels much better to spout Republican talking points. We just can't sustain all the unsustainable liabilities imposed on us by leftist elites who are bleeding us dry. And global warming is a hoax. And there was no way Mitt Romney could lose the 2012 election. Ohio? I refuse to believe it! See californiatsuminami.com

Great post Kevin. It shows there isn’t much truth behind the anti-California hysteria of conservatives. All the right-wing hyperbole about California is rooted in a hatred of progressive, forward-thinking values. It has nothing to do with crime (crime is at record lows) or the economy (the state’s economy is recovering).Notice that most of the people that left this state were old, bigoted, republicans who couldn’t handle the growing diversity. They moved to places like Idaho and Arizona so they could be around their white nationalist ilk. These are precisely the same people that are leaving Pleasanton.

Posted by Sally
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 1, 2013 at 1:54 pm

The rant claiming Calif. is absolutely not circling the toilet has no data to back it up. This is yet another attempt by local union thugs to avoid cuts to their pensions by trying to doctor up a rosy picture. Without factual data from any reputable source, this is all mental master action by the originator of this blog.

Posted by Sally
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 1, 2013 at 1:55 pm

The rant claiming Calif. is absolutely not circling the toilet has no data to back it up. This is yet another attempt by local union thugs to avoid cuts to their pensions by trying to doctor up a rosy picture. Without factual data from any reputable source, this is all mental masterbation by the originator of this blog.

Posted by Arnold
a resident of Another Pleasanton neighborhood
on Feb 1, 2013 at 2:02 pm

You're so right, Bumblehead -- er, I mean Sally. The facts are widely circulated across the web, but most of us are too lazy to look. And besides, the facts don't fit MY world view. And whenever there's a discrepancy between facts and MY world view, I opt for ME. Sounds like that's what you're doing too. Good for you, Doll! Join me in exposing the acursed union thugs who obviously paid big time to have several govt agencies provide this favorable "data". And, besides, as a Republican, who wants to hear GOOD news about California? Because what's good for California is BAD for Republicans. Fight the union scourge!!!